Okay to be overweight, but not obese

Ideally, people should all strive to be “normal weight,” right? Obesity is proven to be very bad for your health, so, despite being less detrimental to your health, being overweight is still likely to be worse than being normal weight, right?

A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has found that overweight people, in fact, have a six percent lower risk of all-cause mortality than normal weight patients. Using a meta-analysis of 97 studies covering 2.88 million people, researchers considered normal weight people to have a BMI between 18.5 and 24.99, overweight people to have a BMI between 25 and 29.99, and obese people with a BMI over 30.

Space travel may cause Alzheimer's

“To infinity…and beyond!” Unfortunately, Buzz Lightyear may not have considered the long-term health consequences of space travel in his ambitious endorsement. A new study from the University of Rochester has found that deep space exploration exposes people to cosmic radiation, which could be harmful to the brain, eventually causing Alzheimer’s disease.

While it has long been understood, apparently, that exposure to cosmic forces could increase the risk of cancer or other conditions, this is the first study of its kind to show a link between space travel and Alzheimer’s. According to the researchers, space is full of radiation, but Earthlings are protected by the magnetic field that surrounds our planet. However, as people travel outside this magnetic field, they are exposed to dangerous cosmic radiation.

The damage caused by radiation comes with prolonged exposure, meaning that longer trips in space – such as to Mars – could lead to an even greater likelihood of developing dementia.

Pill color matters to patients

Changes in the appearance of a drug may be confusing patients, according to a new study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. The research found that patients were 50 percent more likely to stop taking a generic medication if it was a different color than the brand-name drug. Apparently, color of the drug does matter.

Generic medications account for an estimated 70 percent of all prescriptions filled in the U.S., and while some generics look very similar to their brand-name “cousins,” others may not. And this fact appears to be causing confusion among those who need the prescription medications. In the study of over 11,400 patients who had not refilled prescriptions, researchers found that refills dropped 27 percent when the pill changed color.

Annually, the United States health care system loses $290 billion to non-adherence – when a patient does not take a prescribed medication – meaning the future of health care could be riding on something as simple as the color of pills.